The Hub of Sparkle!

Greetings fellow Sparklers. Matthew254 here with some reading material for the masses. I keep a weekly blog over at KC101 and I want to share some interesting posts with those interested. Below is a list of topics which have been recently updated, beefed up, and have had some new photos slapped together for some family-fun goodness. Each post has one foot in Korea and another in America so I try to keep it balanced while still trying to crack a smile in the process. So pull up a chair, kick up your feet, and give me the decency of a pity smirk or at least a weak laugh. Come on, I deserve it. Join me as we delve into Korean history, pop culture, and the things that make us want to start carrying loaded weapons. I try to entertain as well as educate on what I think is the most interesting and perplexing country on the planet. So drop by, leave a comment, and you’ll receive a genuine, heartfelt, politically correct response from me in no time. So get to reading, you recent-college-graduate-trying-to-figure-out-this-country-out!

• Is this a house where I have to take my shoes off? (Korean home manners)
• You’re the Designated what? (Korean drinking culture)
• Okay so I’ll pick you up at 8:00…maybe (Korean punctuality)
• Starcraft is like a fine wine… (Korean video games)
• Wah~ you really butchered that phrase, didn’t you? (Korean as a second language)
• ♪♪…now I know my ㄱ,ㄴ,ㄷ…♪♪ (Korean alphabet, 한글)
• Hey guy, can I use your house tonight? (Korean hotels, lodging)
• 404 Error: Understanding not found (Miscommunication in Korean)
• Uniform(ity) (Korean school uniforms)
• The little country that could (Korean geography)
• I can’t eat that… a vegan’s guide to Korean food (vegetarianism in Korea)
• You can lead a 물 to water… (Korean drinking water)
• Uncle Ben’s got nothing on Korean rice (밥)
• Ctrl Alt Elite (Korean electronics)
• My 오빠 from another 어마! (Korean kinship terms)
• Sink or swim with a smile (Korean language immersion)
• Wall Outlet Roulette: Korean Edition
• Caution – Beware of Pool! (Swim safety in Korea)
• Soap Opera? K-Drama? Korean TV shows? What’s the big deal?
• Hey that’s mine! (Intellectual property rights, copyright infringement in Korea)
• Business or pleasure? (Korean visa regulations)
• Teaching English in Korea: a checklist
• I.E. or nothing at all (web browser discrimination in Korea)
• Seoul Metropolitan Subway: clean, punctual, and scary
• So who’s driving in Korea? No one apparently (traffic safety in Korea)
• The DMZ: More fun than a barrel of monkeys (Korean Demilitarized Zone)
• I hate it so much here that I’m staying: Expats in Korea
• We’re going to the mattresses…well, kind of (Korean sleeping arrangements)
• Business or pleasure? (Korean visa regulations)
• The other red, white, and blue (The South Korean Flag)
• The curious case of Korean age (and why it makes no sense)
• 화투 (Go-Stop) – The cutest and quite possibly the hardest card game you’ll ever play
• The IMF crisis of 1997 – a brief history (and why you should care)
• Happy New Year (again) – the real New Years party – 설날
• Korean nursery rhymes – cheesy no matter what country you’re in
• 반찬 – Take all you want but DON’T eat all that you take (Korean sidedishes)
• 노래방 – The phenomenon that is Korean karaoke
• You have much to learn, young 파다원 (Korean children’s daily life)
• March First Movement – 삼일 운동 (Korean Independence)
• 화이트데이 – reverse Valentine’s Day in Korea (White Day)
• You’re in deep kimchi now mister – Korea’s answer to sauerkraut (김치)
• 소개팅 – Blind date: Korean style (or How I Learned To Lose All Pride)
• You’re so polite that it’s rude – Three different ways to be misunderstood in Korean
• KTX – Faster than a speeding bullet train
• 회식 – obligatory fun with your Korean coworkers
• For money, it’s key to have key money, okay money? (월세 and 전세)
• Children’s Day – Tylenol’s favorite holiday in Korea
• If you love someone, let them go (overseas to learn English) p.1 – 유학하다
• If you love someone, let them go (overseas to learn English) p.2 – 외기러기
• You’ve got a friend (for life), 마이 친구 (Korean Friendship)
• Money, Cash, Paper, 돈, 금전, 원 (Korean Money)
• Eat (or how not to run your mouth, gross everyone out and make enemies) in Korea
• Laugh Track 2.0 (or How I learned to love Korean TV post production)
• Korean Flight Attendants and why I should live on an airplane
• VAT and Tipping in Korea (service gratuity and why you should[n’t] do it)
• Sucks to be you – Korean attitudes towards being fat, skinny, and everything between
• and 안녕하세요 right back at you, jerk (greetings, introductions, saying hello in Korea)
• It’s nothing personal – unless you’re in Korea (Korean business relationships)
• Metal chopsticks (Korean eating utensils)

Coming from a guy who just recently arrived, take yourself back to a time when you loved everything here, culture shock was at it’s peak, and you were the exotic yet unapproachable foreigner with a bad accent. Yes, ladies and gents, it is I and I am here to please. Stay tuned for more analytical goodness in the future!

-your  friendly neighborhood Texan

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